Improvement in eotart fluid-elevatobs



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Letters .Patent No. 79,781, dated July 7, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY FLUID-ELEVATORS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: i

Be it known that I, STEPHEN P. RUGGLES, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts,

`have invented a new and'useful Improvement in a Machine or -Apparatus for Raising, Forcing, or Passing Air, l Gas, or Water in One Direction; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being'had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhich- Figures 1, 2, 3,4 of sheet 1 represent the machine as arranged to he worked by cogged and slip-gearing, and

Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and'9 of sheet 2 represent the machine as arranged to be worked by a belt.

Similar letters of reference, where they occur in the several separate lfigures, denote like parts of the apparatus in all of the drawings.

My invention relates to a machine or apparatus wherein twosoat-whecls, withtheir oats, are soAars-anged and operated as that they pass, force, or raise air, gas, or water in one direction, and prevent it-from flowing back in'the opposite direct-ion. v

To enable those skilled inthe art to make an'd use my invention, I will proceed to describe' the saine with reference to the drawings. I

In sheet 1, A represents a box o1' case, in which two float-wheels, each composed ofthree oats, B-C D and E F G, which, in turning or revolving, overlap each other, the extreme endsof each ofthe series extending to or nearly to the centre of rotation of the otherl series. From the points a to these floats move in close proximity to, or in contact with, 'the curved surfaces, shown in the gures, so lthat no communication is had between the two sides of the floats as they pass along these curved surfaces, which may be packed with rubber or any other snit-able packing. y

The iloat-wheels ae,'moreover, so arranged and moved as that one of the floats of one of .the series shall act as a cutoff at or in the space between the float-wheels, so that no communication is had between the underV P and upper portions of the box Vo-r case, except what is had by'the floats themselves, forming buckets, as it were, Y

to take and carry air, gas, or water from below, past the centre and into the upper portion of the case, and thence to where it is to be used orwescaped.

llhe loatwheels turn on journals that are packed in the sides of tlie case, and thus, not requiring a through shaft, but little space fis occupied at their centres.

The doet-wheels are moved, stopped, and held by gearing, as follows: r

On the journal of the oats'E F G, outside of the case A, is placed a wheel, H, having sectionsof an internal gear, d, interposed by blanks or dead spaces e, and, behind the gear-sections and blanks, a series of cams, e. i

On a. shaft, I, supported in bearing-blocks J J, and turned by any suitable power, and within the hollow or dished portion of the wheel H, there is placed, ',rst, a cam, K. iig. 4, which turns against or in contact with the cam-surfaces e, and which, when in the position shown infblarckf-llines in said fig. 4, locks the wheel H, and prevents it from moving, but when in the position shown by the red-lines in said figure, it releases said wheel, and allows it to be moved by asegment of cogs,j`, on a l1 ub,`L, on vsaid shaft I, which take into theinternal segments, al, ofI thc'wheel H, and turn said wheel, until the oogged sections run out, when the cam K has again arrivedat the next cam-surface, e, and again holds the wheel I-I, and so on.

On thelshaft I, and adjacent to the hub L, there is a second cog'ged secton,g, which is diametrically opposite thecogged section f, on said shaft, said section g being on the perimeter of a hub, M, and working into the series of sections of Vcogs) z, on the wheel N, whichis fixed on the journal ot" the other series ot'y oats, B O D, so as to give a regularly-timed and intermittent rotary motion to said last-named lioats, as'will be explained.A

' 'Ine shaft I also carries a cam, O, which works into the curved recesses P of the wheel N, and, when in contact with .said surfaces, holds the wheel N from turning, and it runs out of contact therewith `ijust as the eogged segment g takes into one of the cogged sections L, on the perimeter of the wheel N.

The series of cogged segments h are formed by the blanks t', interposed between them, which blanksadmit of the series g going into and out of vgear without any sudden motion.

The ctie-ct of this intermittently-moving, locking, and'stopping-mcchanism iS that one of the Heat-wheels makes nearly one-third of a revolution, while the other float-wheel remains stationary; then the latter starts, and both wheels move together for a short distance, when the irst one comes t0 a state of rest, and is locked from moving until its proper time, and holds the air, gas, or water from passing or flowing back. The succeeding floats move, stop, and hold in a similar manner, their movements and periods of rest being made and controlled positively by the xed or rigid gears and locking-mechanism operating in connection with the gears.

In sheet 2, I have shown a modification of this machine or apparatus,'whercin four instead of three floats are used on each float-wheel. Any other number may be used that will allow them to clear each other in their intermittent and alternating rotations. In this modification a driving-belt is used, instead of yrigid gears, and an alternating locking and releasing-mechanism is used, which is operated by cam-grooves in the faces of the wheels, respectively, 'upon thejonrnals of the float-wheels.

In this modification, A represents thc box or case, and a b the concentric curved surfaces against which the extremities of the iloats move. v

In bearing-pieces J J, on the case, a shaft,vI,'is placed, and which may be turned by any suitable power.

At or near the ends of the shaft I are placed belt-pulleys Q R, which are connected to said shaft by coiled springs'clc, so that, at times, the motion of the shaft may be taken up, inwinding the springs, without moving the float-wheels.

Around the pulley Q, and around a pulley, S, on the `journal of,r one of the float-wheels, passes4 an, endless belt,.T, by which motion is communicated to said float-wheel; and aroundthe pulley R, and around a pulley, U, on the journal of the other float-wheel, passes an endless belt, V, by which. motion is communicated to that float-wheel, the latter belt being twisted, so that the motions ofthe twofoat-wheels' shall be towards each other.

In the faces ofthe two pulleys S U there are a series of concentric grooves, m, corresponding in number to the series of loats on the {lont-wheels, which concentric grooves are intercepted by angular grooves, n, and aguidingabutment, 0 at the angle.

A rod, W, extends across the case, its ends, r r, being bent into a crank-form, and the ends of the crankportions, s, again bent, so as to enter the grooves in the pulley-wheels S U.

When these bent ends s are in the concentric grooves m, they offer no impediment to the rotation of said wheels orto the float-wheels that they are upon; but when they run into the angular-grooves n, they momentarily l check or hold their respective wheels and Heats, thus allowing one to vmove without the other, and then both to move, so Athat there shall always be one oat acting as a cut-eti` at the centre, as' there is always one so acting at each of the ends ofthe case, and preventing anything from passing backward orin any other direction than that in which the tloat-wheels move.

The relativepositions ofthe grooved pulleys, with regard to the holding and releasing-arms, is seen in fig. 8, one being in the act of being released whilst the other is in the act'ofbeing stopped, so that they may alternate at times, andat times move together, and forming buckets or conveyers for taking up and carrying through the case air, gas,"or watei.

When used for a blower, the float-wheels should revolve rapidly; when used for a ventilator, they may move more slowly. For passing water or gas, they may lie-regulated for the special purpose to which the apparatus is to be applied. y

In the above description,I have mentioned only the use of these float-wheelsrwhere they are driven, or active, and carry through the air, gas, or water, which is passive. The reverse of the operation may be accomplished without changing the character of the machine, that is to say, the force of the through-going air, gas, water, or its vapor may drivev the Heat-wheels, which, in turn, may drive their gearing, and it may be applied, in this way, to any useful purpose.

Having thus fullydescribed my invention, what -I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i v v'lhe combination, in one case or box, of two float-wheels, that move one before the other and then both together, for the purpose of passing air, gas, or water through the case in one direction only, and prevent it from owing back, substantially in the manner-and for the purpose set forth. g

STEPHEN r. RUGGLES.

Witnesses:

F. O. PRINCE, FELIX McCABE. 

